The invention relates to a system comprising a player and/or recorder apparatus and a tape cassette suitable for cooperation with the apparatus, which cassette comprises a magnetic tape with a coating on one side, and a housing having two parallel main walls and various transverse walls including one front wall formed with a magnetic-head opening, along which front wall the magnetic tape in the housing extends with its coating side facing the opening, which cassette further comprises a resilient element with two tape guides, which element is situated near the opening at the back of the magnetic tape in the cassette, which tape guides each comprise a guide surface guiding the magnetic tape during cooperation with the apparatus, which apparatus comprises a magnetic-head unit with a head face past which the magnetic tape is moved in its longitudinal direction during cooperation with the cassette, the magnetic tape coating being in contact with the head face.
Such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,486, assigned to the present assignee. During cooperation of the apparatus with the cassette, the magnetic tape is moved past the magnetic-head unit and over the head face in order to read and/or write information from/on the magnetic tape. In magnetic recording it is essential that when signals are read from a magnetic tape, the transducing gap of the magnetic-head unit is disposed at the same angle (azimuth angle) relative to the magnetic tape as during recording of these signals. In order to ensure that in operation the magnetic tape is always moved over the head face at the same angle, further tape guides have been provided in the apparatus at opposite sides of the head face in the direction of transport. These further tape guides comprise height limiters, which ensure that the magnetic tape always occupies the same position relative to the head face. The further tape guides further comprise control means to keep the magnetic tape in contact with the height limiters. For a comprehensive description of the further tape guides with the height limiters and the control means, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,420 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,278 (herewith incorporated by reference).
In the described system the tape guides in the cassette have projections which during cooperation with the apparatus are in contact with the magnetic-head unit and keep the tape guides spaced from the magnetic-head unit to prevent the magnetic tape from becoming stuck between the tape guides and the head face. The presence of said projections complicates the construction of the resilient element with the tape guides, which also leads to an increase in the production costs thereof. Since such cassettes are manufactured in large quantities, it is important to keep the construction of the cassette as simple as possible.